Uber Weekly Update - July 21, 2014

​

There’s a new kind of excitement worming its way through the studio, its warm tendrils slowly latching on to every single member of the team. We’re embracing the embrace; in the last few days, we’ve finalized our plans for the release of Planetary Annihilation and we’re giddily hacking away at what we need to do in order to deliver the polished, refined, and streamlined 1.0 version of the game on our own schedule.

From top to bottom, the 1.0 release of Planetary Annihilation will run leaner, faster, and look better. Our crew of engineers and programmers are pushing hard to improve the overall user experience by making the client and server run more smoothly. Take a trip to our office and you’ll hear the steady clack of keyboards, as brave coders clean blemishes and chew away at technical debt.

In the last couple of PTE builds, you’ve witnessed some of their work in making the game faster. You’ve also probably noticed extensive graphical and user interface improvements. New and more stunning particle effects are breathing a whole new life into Commander and nuclear explosions. New game screens and various menus have also been introduced.

The 1.0 release will also hit digital and store shelves with new features and mechanics, one of which is available. In our GiantBomb interview, we mentioned we really liked the idea of allowing you to spawn anywhere on a map instead of in a pre-selected spot. This is now in the game. We like what it brings to the table: spawning wherever brings a new kind of swagger, a new kind of intensity that foreshadows the sprawling, massive battles that Planetary Annihilation is all about.

What’s “Finished,” Really?


What’s finished anyway? It’s a question Jon Mavor brings up a lot when we talk about the 1.0 build. In a lot of ways, we see 1.0 as just the beginning of the story: a rocking sentence that hooks you for an entire novel. We plan to support PA for a long time, creating new content as quickly as possible to keep the action interesting. Sometimes, when we daydream at our desks, we think about all the new things we can bring to the game after this push.

So, all this is to say that 1.0 is coming, but that doesn’t mean we’re “done.” It’s just the beginning — and we can’t wait to take you on the ride.

Toy Rush Content Update


Did you know? Our mobile title, Toy Rush [Free], received a massive content update earlier this month. Around the office, we’ve been calling it the “League Update.” As you can imagine, it rolls in the concept of leagues to the game. As you play and smash players’ bases to bits, you receive medals. These medals, in turn, place you higher and higher up ladders. Want to be the best? Prove it. And, now, show it.

We also introduced two new cards into the game to flesh out battle a bit more. The Block Totem is a really useful new defensive item that blocks the use of action cards. It also heals nearby towers, fortifying your defenses even more.

Our other new card? It’s called The Focus Fire card. With it, you can instruct every toy in play to fire on a specific target. Have a tower that’s been causing you problems? Get this card, set your target, and watch it burn under a delicious onslaught.

We’re working on another update to Toy Rush, too, which will bring some more challenges, bug fixes, and niftier options to the table.

And Now For Some Questions


Where are my rewards?

We appreciate the continued patience. After launch, we’ll get your backer rewards out to you. I just saw the t-shirts the other day; they look incredible. Prepare yourselves!

Will we see more livestreams in the future?

Absolutely. We’re moving offices soon and plan to add a few new treats to the set.

I see you guys are working on some fantastic effects, specially explosions. Are there plans to make a planet deteriorate the longer war goes on? Just to give a few examples, nukes changing atmosphere color and perhaps deforming the terrain slowly or planet smashes transforming planets into molten lava planets.

Just passed this one by Ben. His eyes lit up. I assume he’s rubbing his hands together, thinking about the possibilities.

When will we see leaderboards and matchmaking?

This is a post-1.0 kind of thing. We’d love to add ladders, matchmaking, a ranking system — basically everything you need to play Planetary Annihilation competitively.

Woo!

Any idea if there will be an interim build for Steam (non-PTE) between now and 1.0 then?

Sounds great though!

Totally. PTE is all about big changes and making double-sure they're stable enough to push live. I can't imagine we won't have a couple more live builds beforehand.

Cool stuff! I look forward to what 1.0 will bring to the table

I'm giddy with excitement! Go Uber!!

I find this a little concerning.

New players getting curb stomped by experienced players is already a big issue which is turning away players. That's also often considered one of the reasons why SMNC failed. New players stop playing when they get beaten really badly.

SMNC was multiplayer only, and PA isn't. But multiplayer is a big component of PA.

I really don't like watching new players leaving the game because of the learning curve.

If this isn't 1.0, which it probably should be, it should be the first feature to come after 1.0.

Heck, I'd play PA a ton more if there was matchmaking. I just don't really enjoy boring games where I beat my opponent with ease.

Planet deterioration! Woo!

Well I wouldn't say that. 90% of the games are fought against AI.

Tell Ben "pls"
Also, any word on more lore? The lore questions thread a while back got me excited for more.

So 1.0 is not going to be out next week.

Any guess you can reveal on a release month?

And that could be for a number of reasons.

Maybe new players are playing against the AI because they get curb stomped in matchmaking.

They also could be playing against the AI because there aren't many games up.

Kinda some self-fulfilling prophecies.

Honestly, I'd be most excited if they manage to actually get "host your own server" mode up and running for the 1.0 release so I can finally do offline play against the AI.

This is probably one of the reasons. There are a lot of very new players around and the vast majority of the random matches at the moment are horribly one-sided.

I still find that breaking a siege on a planet to be very difficult, with very few ways to accomplish it.(SSX, Anchors, Nukes.)

Transporting large armies to assault a planet is a costly and hardware intensive operation(Hundreds upon hundreds of Astreaii)

Id really like more variety in ground assaults from orbit at or immediately after a 1.0 release.

But thats just me.

You missed a question.

Toy Rush Android?

Could also be that there are people that legitimately dislike playing online multiplayer with random people, especially in RTS games. I at least actively prefer either playing with friends directly or against AI. Certainly doesn't make up for anywhere near the entire disparity, but I know there are a lot of people who do the same.

I second this question! It's the only reason I haven't played yet!

Keep up all teh great work guys

The game is already better then what kickstarter lead us to beleive.

You are all truely gods of the RTS Genre.

Heck I'd probably even play a PC version of Toy Rush. I haven't been able to play it (because no Apple devices, because Apple (and my old Android device probably couldn't run it)) but it does look like it could be pretty fun.